The Supreme Court has let construction continue on a new ballroom next to the White House, at least for now. NBC News reports that Chief Justice John Roberts issued a temporary stay blocking lower-court rulings that would have halted the above-ground part of the project. The decision is provisional — it buys the justices time to consider what to do next.
The challenge comes from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which argues the president had no authority to demolish the East Wing and build a ballroom. One of the questions in the case is whether the trust has standing to sue at all, resting as it does on a member objecting on aesthetic grounds. A trust spokesman said this was not a final decision on the merits of the government's stay application and that they awaited further action.
Trump welcomed it on TruthSocial, writing that they were grateful for the decision and that the Military/Ballroom Complex being built on the hallowed grounds of the White House, so vital for national security, would be the greatest of its kind. He added that construction was under budget and ahead of schedule.
The administration's own account of the work is in its court filings. As of 14 August, it said, the project was 65 per cent complete — a $400 million, privately funded build with a 250-person crew working twenty hours a day, seven days a week. The plan includes a substantial underground component with secure locations and medical facilities that the administration argues are vital for security.
The courts had drawn a line between the two halves. A federal judge ruled for the trust, holding that the underground work could proceed but the ballroom itself could not be built while the litigation continued. On 7 August the DC Circuit upheld that, setting Friday as the deadline for construction to stop unless the Supreme Court stepped in. It did.
Why it is on the board
Fourth on NBC News's most-popular list when we collected, with video on it running as well.
확인: NBC News